We've been in Santiago for a week now. We left Mendoza on the bus with sore bums from the Bikes & Wines tour! It took about 8 hours and despite some mistranslation on our part we made it. We thought that the bus conductor was telling us we had to go back to Mendoza when we were half way there because the road was closed, but in fact he was probably saying that sometimes they have to go back if there is too much snow. The views of the Andes were spectacular (see photos) and our driver tried his best to drive us off numerous cliffs. We've been staying at La Casa Roja (thanks for the recommendation, Katie!) near the city centre. We've met up with Jo's uncle Steve a couple of times for dinners and to check out his awesome flat - also with brilliant views of the mountains. We went to see Universidad de Chile v Cobresal one evening which was great fun, despite us knowing only one player - Chilean legend Marcelo Salas. The atmosphere was unbelievable. The fans behind the goal sang, danced and ran around the terraces for the entire 90 minutes. English fans are not the best fans in the world, despite what everyone says back home! We've done the main sights of the city. There is a bit less to do than in Buenos Aires and it's all concentrated within a few blocks of what is a massive city. It's a bit more expensive too but we've eaten in some lovely places on recommendation from the hostel and fellow travellers. But it's still cheaper than home... The big news is "Puedemos hablar español ahora" (we can speak Spanish now)! Well we've had 16 hours of lessons with the hostel teacher, Jesus. We've learnt loads in a very short space of time so we're much better in the restaurant situations. We reckon we'd like to carry on at home too! We've got a week to practise as we head to the south tomorrow on an organised bus tour before our final lesson next Thursday. We'll be back in Santiago for a couple of days before doing a similar tour to the north. Then it's back to Santiago again for our flight to New Zealand. Check out our photos in the album section. Best wishes to everyone around the world! love mikey & jo xxx